Pretear: Animal Heart
by Kaylean
Summary: When a friend comes to Hakkaido to visit Himeno she brings a few uninvited guests. Animal Leafe Knights! Unappreciated and young they left to find there own Pretear. They didn't expect that they would. What happens when one pretear isn't enough.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was high in the sky when the plane landed in Hakkaido. It had only been a year since Himeno had become the white pretear. Himeno, Hayate, Hajime, Mannen, and Shin were all standing in port waiting for the occupants to exit. Mannen was being particularly impatient.

"Why are we here again?" he asked with a truly childish tone.

"We're here to pick up Rouge, a friend of mine. She coming from the States to spend a summer with me!" Himeno seemed to have no issue in repeating herself. She'd been excited for months waiting for her friend to arrive.

"Why do WE have to be here?" he whined. Hayate gave him a dangerous look. Mannen gave a sigh. "Fine," he said in defeat.

The passengers were almost done unloading when a girl exited the plane. She had long curly brunette hair that circled her heart-shaped face. Her milk chocolate eyes were bright with excitement. A smile graced her face when it fell on Himeno. As she cleared the crowd they could see she wore a black tank top, a black backpack, and a pair of fairly tight, ripped up jeans. They all gave her a curious look, except for Himeno. She just returned the smile. Finally when she reached them she dropped her backpack and gave Himeno a hug. They wrapped each other in greeting.

"Hey, Himeno! I haven't seen you in three years! How have you been?" the girl's voice was sweet and kind.

"I know. It's been a long time. I'm just fine. How about you?" Himeno released her to get a better look at her old friend.

"I'm great!" she said and within an instant she looked straight at Hayate. "So THIS is the hottie, hm?" it came right out of her mouth. Himeno immediately turned red.

"I-I-I never said that!" she said about ready to karate chop her skull when she blocked the blow by crossing her arms above her head. Instead of intensity they both started laughing. Hayate was in shock along with the three children. Finally they put their hands down and hugged one another again. "I missed you," Himeno laughed.

"Ditto!" the girl said when they separated she wiped away a tear in the corner of her eyes. "So you want to tell me who the guys are or should I assume again?" she teased. Himeno nodded and gestured to each one by one.

"This is Hayate, Mannen, Hajime, and Shin," Himeno smiled. "They live with me," she said sort of embarrassed. The girl raised her eyebrow at Himeno in question. "It's kind of difficult to understand," she said hoping she wouldn't ask any questions.

"Well, as long as your dad knows. Hello Hayate, Mannen, Hajime, and Shin. I'm Rouge Miller," she nodded in greeting to them all. It surprised them that she remembered their names and in the same order that Himeno. They all simply nodded in response. After the acknowledgement of greeting Himeno grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Come on! You have to meet the rest of my new family!" she said dragging Rouge along behind her.

"Hey, Himeno, slow it down!" the boys followed behind them when they got to the exit they walked to the limo waiting for them. Rouge took a minute to take in the new looks of her friend's new life.

"Do you want to walk?" Himeno asked when she saw Rouge's shocked face.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I'd rather not," she said with haste. The boys finally caught up and decided to take the limo to give the girls some privacy. Hayate lingered in the door for a moment. Himeno gave him a smile of reassurance and he got into the car.

"Himeno?" Rouge looked at her as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Hmm?" Himeno's voice was light and happy.

"That Hayate guy, he seemed worried about you. What was that all about?"

"Oh, we were just in a bit of trouble not too long ago. He still worries every now and again. He just doesn't like to leave me unprotected," Himeno said as if it were nothing and then covered her mouth as soon as she realized what she had said.

"Unprotected…" Rouge's voice faded.

"Oh I didn't mean-!" Himeno tried to make up for her mistake but was interrupted.

"Himeno, how many guys became apart of your 'new family'?" Rouge's voice was of the utmost seriousness.

"Seven, why?" her voice was of concern. When Rouge quit walking it only became worse. "Rouge, what's the matter?"

"Himeno, there's something that I've got to tell you," Rouge's voice was very sad.

"What's wrong?" her hands rested on Rouge's shoulders. And just then the air got really thick.

"No, not here!" Rouge's voice was in a near panic. Himeno almost didn't remember this feeling that she felt now, it was the feeling of darkness approaching. What surprised her though was the fact that Rouge knew what it was. Then there was a scream from the airport. They had gotten so far away from the airport that they almost couldn't understand what the woman was yelping.

"Wolf! There's a wolf!" the woman yelp came as a surprise to both but Rouge's surprise melted away to a pure joy.

"Come on!" Rouge grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the airport, but she pulled her towards a hiding spot. She waited with a smile Himeno didn't know Rouge had.

Himeno looked down the green hedge path and in an instant a pure white wolf leaped through the outer hedges and landed in the path. It's yellow eyes intense and only on Rouge.

"Kane," her voice was warm and lucid. The wolf started to run towards her but what Himeno saw was beyond her understanding. The wolf transformed into a man. He had long silky white hair that trailed behind him like a tail and the same golden eyes, burning with intensity. He wore a coat almost exactly like Hayate's except it was all white and had a shoulder guard. His pants were white as well as well as his shoes. The man took her up in his arms and it reminded Himeno of when Hayate had come for her. Rouge wrapped her arms around him with tears streaming down her face.

"Idiot! You should know better than to leave without me! What if I couldn't have caught the plane right after yours? What if he got to you before you got here?" his voice was thick with worry and concern. Rouge gave a short chuckle.

"You're the idiot. You changed right in front of a stranger," she said in good humor. His face became pale and he looked over at Himeno, who was staring at him in shock. He hung his head in defeat.

"Come on! My luck can't be that bad, can it?!" he whined. Rouge laughed and patted him on the back.

"It's okay. She already knows someone like you. Right, Himeno?" she said while looking at Himeno with a gentle expression. It took Himeno a minute to come out of daze before she could register the question.

"You mean the Leafe Knights?" Himeno was surprised but she was able to think.

"Yeah, well, meet the Leafe Knights, second division. Or, at least one of them," Rouge seemed to have figured out what had happened. Then a hawk that swooped down and landed in front of Kane giving off an evil glare. It's black eyes burning holes into his face.

"Hello, Takai," Kane said as the bird transformed. His hair hand many different shades of brown black and white, just like his feathers. His hair hung halfway in his face and his skin was tan and a feather like outfit almost like Kei's. The black eyes however, stayed black.

"Hello, Kane. You are SO lucky you didn't do something really stupid," he said as if it were a normal thing. Then he turned around to face Himeno. "I'm sorry miss. He's a complete dolt. So you must be the pretear. I haven't seen Shin in a while so I wouldn't mind saying hello," the guy was very kind and calm. Himeno, felt for the darkness but it had hidden away since the two guys had arrived.

"Rouge, what's going on here?" Himeno seemed very confused. Rouge hugged Himeno gratefully.

"Everything will be explained later," Rouge's voice was of both relief and worry, but that wasn't what worried her the most. What Hayate and the others going to say when they find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Himeno and Rouge entered first to see a fairly distressed Hayate. "Himeno, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Himeno said calmly. Then looked sort of nervous. "Um, Hayate?"

Hayate looked at her skeptically. She normally like this. "What is it?" he got dreadfully serious.

"Well aren't you the grumpy one," Rouge butted in, leaning against the door.

Himeno looked at her with an irritated glare. "Roooogue."

Rouge laughed nervously and raised her hands. "Okay okay! I'll shut up!"

Himeno then looked at Hayate nervously again. "Well, it seems Rouge brought some…friends with her."

Hayate looked at her with a raised brow. "What do you mean?"

Himeno looked at Rouge who opened the door and Kane and Takai walked in. Suddenly the air became so thick with tension that it was hard to breath.

"You," Hayate said with venom that Himeno didn't know he was capable. "What are you doing here? Did you run with your tail between your legs?"

Kane and Takai didn't take that well. Although Takai was quickly able to cover the majority of his anger. "We didn't run, Hayate. We left because you had become unbearable."

Kane made a fist and was making an obvious effort not to strike. Like his animal instincts were craving to. Hayate, unfortunately, picked up on that. "And you, just as savage as you used to be? You have not changed."

Himeno gasped and glared at Hayate. "That wasn't called for, Hayate!"

"You don't understand Himeno, these beings don't even deserve to be called Leafe Knights!"

Kane finally snapped. "Shut up you wind bag! You can't possibly expect me to believe that you're so high and mighty! You make mistakes too!" He took a threatening step forward. "I'll fight you right now and I'll-"

"ENOUGH!" Rouge's voice was commanding and caused the room to go silent. Her gaze was intent on Kane, whom hid his eyes. "You came in here promising me that you would not strike at them, no matter how much their words hurt. You know who you are," her voice softened and looked at both. "I know who you are. Please."

Hayate watched amazed as Kane's expression softened and then turned back to him without snarling and his face seemed fairly placid. "I apologize," Kane stated, bowing his head.

Takai nodded and bowed as well. "As do I."

Rouge looked at them with a smile. "Thank you…"

Hayate walked up to Rouge and Kane visibly tensed, but remained still and kept a straight face. "Please, tell me, are you a Pretear?"

Rouge seemed to ponder that. "I'm their Pretear. As they are my Leafe Knights," she stated with the most confidence. "Just like Himeno is yours and you are hers."

Hayate looked at her with a stoic face. "Why did you come here?"

Kane answered. "She came to ask for help, because we were all too stubborn to come back. So she did the bone-headed thing and took the first flight here, without anyone with her."

Hayate froze. "Help? What for?"

Rouge sighed. "Darkness…" she said bluntly. "I'll explain in more detail when the rest arrive."

Hayate sighed. "So their all coming?"

Rouge nodded. "They should be arriving over the next few days." She moved around and to Himeno. "Man I wish we didn't have so much in common."

Himeno nodded. "Hayate, we'll meet you in the garden in 3 hours. Tell Sasame to gather everybody, please?"

Hayate nodded. And made his way for the door, Takai and Kane moved out of the way but Hayate paused in the doorway. "Maybe I was wrong…you have changed."

Kane nodded. "Maybe I was wrong too…" then Hayate made his exit.

Rouge and Himeno began walking up the stairs when Rouge began coughing violently. Himeno was the only thing holding her up. Kane and Takai right next to her. Takai feeling her head. "She's got a fever."

Kane didn't hesitate to lift her from Himeno's grasp. "Where's the bedroom?"

Rouge spoke in chopped up sentences. "I'm fine," she paused for a series of coughing. "Really."

They all gave her a look that said something along the lines of 'like hell you are!'. She sighed and rested her head into Kane's chest. "Please?"

Himeno lead the way towards the room she had set up for Rouge. Takai shook his head as she was set down. "I need to tell the others there is no more time. We can't delay this forever," he said as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "I don't know if the others will be as forgiving as Hayate was."

Himeno stood at that. "Why is there such hostility between you guys?"

Takai shook his head. "If they have not told you, I will not anger them further by telling you information that they have been with-holding," he said as he transformed into a hawk and perched himself on the window and gave Rouge one last glance.

Kane took her hand in his. "Fly fast, my friend. I really don't want to face them on my own," he said softly. Takai nodded and took flight.

Himeno sat on the other side of the bed. "Do you mean the darkness or the Leafe Knights?"

Kane grimaced. "Neither to be honest."

Himeno gave a nervous chuckle. Then looked back at Rouge, whose coughing had slowed. "Feeling better?"

Rouge smiled. I'm fine. It's just jet-lag. I'm not very good at adjusting, you know that," she laughed.

Himeno snickered darkly. "Yeah when you first arrived you didn't leave the bathroom for hours."

Rouge smacked Himeno with her pillow. "YOU JERK!" she exclaimed. Then she began coughing again.

"Someone doesn't feel good…" Shin's voice carried into the room and Kane gapped.


	3. Chapter 3

Hayate arrived in Leafenia with a conflicted expression. He wasn't sure how this was going to end. Him and the others had never brought up the other Leafe Knights because they were thought to be traitors. Now, so long after their disappearance…they returned. They were also partially right. Hayate sighed as he remembered the last time he had spoken to Kane.

_ Kane was growling fiercely at Hayate. "You think you're all high and mighty! I'm tired of all your hot air! We're Leafe Knights! We aren't going to sit quietly waiting for you to tell us it's our time. We are going to find our own Pretear!"_

_ "You're a fool, Kane! Finding your own Pretear is stupid! You're an inexperienced child who thinks that just because he has powers means you're invincible!" Hayate shouted in anger. "If you leave Leafenia you will be considered TRAITORS. You will never be allowed to return! Throw away this idea of a Pretear of your own now!"_

Hayate froze in mid tread and remembered so clearly how feral Kane looked then. Then the last words that Kane spoke to him came to his mind.

_ Kane roared with ferocity that would leave normal men stricken with fear. "You are the fool! Don't you think we tried that! We tried to be docile! We tried to ignore this feeling! We are being called to our Pretear!" he exclaimed and the pain in his eyes obvious. "We know what will happen to our status…but we can't pretend. Not any longer," and without another word spoken he turned into a wolf and fled. Hayate gave him such a hateful glare for he would betray the Leafe Knights for pure stupidity._

Hayate was so sure of himself then. That there was no way that there could be more than one Pretear at a time. Then Rouge flashed to his mind. She had silenced Kane with one word. He was positive no one could accomplish that until he had seen it for himself. Then the fact of how she claimed to be their Pretear specifically. The fact that she and Himeno were friends was even more eerie.

"Hayate…you look distracted," Sasame's voice pierced Hayate's thoughts. "What's wrong?"

Hayate hesitated. "There is a chance that Darkness is lurking near. We need to summon the other knights…bring them to the garden in three hours. Himeno will meet us there."

Sasame face scrunched up in disapproval. "What aren't you telling me?"

Hayate brought his hand to his face and heaved a great sigh. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

Rouge sat up weakly and looked at Kane. "What's the matter?"

Kane face grew pale and he hung his head. "When did…when did he…"

Shin walked over playfully and patted Kane's head. "Your hair is really soft! Like a doggy's fur."

Kane's eyes grew wide and then softened immediately. "Yes. It's actually wolf fur."

Rouge smiled, but then broke into another cough. "Ugh…make this shit go awaaaaay," she moaned.

Kane's and Shin's attention immediately shifted to her. Himeno gently patted her on the back. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Rouge couldn't answer because she was coughing so hard. Shin climbed up on the bed and took her hand which gave off a slight glow. Her coughing slowed as she looked at the surprised child. "That's right. I'm a Pretear little one."

Shin seemed a little confused at first, but after glancing at the approving Himeno, Shin wrapped Rouge in a warm hug. "Welcome to the family!" he cheered.

Kane tensed slightly at the word '_family_' and Rouge saw it but chose to not bring it up for the moment. "Thank you," she said gently. She paused to realize her cough had gone away. She was slightly light headed still so she decided against standing. "You seem to work miracles Shin. My cough has gotten better," she said in an excitement that could only be shown to children.

Shin's face grew bright with glee and jumped a little on the bed. Kane's expressions drew into a sad smile. Himeno saw this and felt her heart jerk at the regret in his eyes. She knew that kind of feeling. Rouge sat quietly, letting Shin be delighted in the thoughts that he had helped her, but her stare would occasionally drift in Kane's direction. She felt his pain, Himeno just knew it.

"Shin," Himeno said to him with a smile. "lets go to the kitchen and get some snacks for them, okay?"

Shin jumped up with eagerness. "Can we get some for me too?" he asked.

Himeno laughed. "Of course! We'll be right back you two," she said as she stood and lifted Shin off the bed. When they exited she glanced back at Rouge who mouthed a "Thank you" in her direction. Himeno nodded and closed the door. Shin followed her while holding onto her hand. Mawata was walking out of her room when the two of them caught sight of her.

"Mawata," Himeno called. Mawata turned and waved at her with a fond smile.

"Hello Himeno. Did you go pick up your friend?" she asked as she adjusted the novel she was cradling.

Himeno nodded and sighed heavily. "There is something we need to talk about too, but I'll wait until after this meeting with the Leafe Knights."

Mawata's eyes widened and then grew a bit sorrowful. "Oh, is Sasame going to be there? I wonder how him and Takako are doing. Tell them hello for me," Mawata said as she tried to hide the hurt she still felt. However, she knew that they were happy, and didn't want to interfere with that.

Himeno nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that," she said as she patted her shoulder gently. "Hey we're going to make snacks. You want some?"

Mawata smiled. "Sure. I actually was heading that way just now."

"Great!" Himeno yelled while taking a strange victory pose. "Off to the kitchen!" she ordered. As the other two descended down the stairs she glanced back at the room with Rouge and Kane. "Why do I feel…like this is going to be a long road, Rouge…"


End file.
